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grogu_djarin's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tome15's review
4.0
Kube-McDowell, Michael P. The Quiet Pools. Ace, 1990.
There are three dramatic possibilities in any generation starship story. You can focus on problems getting launched, or on problems on the way, or on problems when you get there. The Quiet Pools, nominated for a Hugo, is in the first group. Most stories about launching are starship are focused on the people who want to go. Heinlein’s Methuselah’s Children is a good example. The Quiet Pools is unusual in that it focuses on the opposition. Having said that, it is hard to say more without creating spoilers I would rather avoid. The central symbol of the novel is in the title, but it takes a long time for Kube-McDowell to tells us about it. Technology is underplayed—though there is a very believable scene with an AI—in favor of psychology and genetics. In that way, without the longevity wish fulfillment, it is the heir to Methuselah’s Children. It is better written than Emprise, an earlier Kube-McDowell novel, though I could do with several fewer banal sex scenes and scenes of Freudian angst. However, the scientific argument the story finely presents is worth the wait.
There are three dramatic possibilities in any generation starship story. You can focus on problems getting launched, or on problems on the way, or on problems when you get there. The Quiet Pools, nominated for a Hugo, is in the first group. Most stories about launching are starship are focused on the people who want to go. Heinlein’s Methuselah’s Children is a good example. The Quiet Pools is unusual in that it focuses on the opposition. Having said that, it is hard to say more without creating spoilers I would rather avoid. The central symbol of the novel is in the title, but it takes a long time for Kube-McDowell to tells us about it. Technology is underplayed—though there is a very believable scene with an AI—in favor of psychology and genetics. In that way, without the longevity wish fulfillment, it is the heir to Methuselah’s Children. It is better written than Emprise, an earlier Kube-McDowell novel, though I could do with several fewer banal sex scenes and scenes of Freudian angst. However, the scientific argument the story finely presents is worth the wait.
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